When Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims announced last week she would not seek another term, she said her successor should be a Black woman and not hold any other elected office.

Those would seem to be digs at Hazel Crest Mayor Vernard Alsberry, the first hopeful to publicly toss his hat in the ring for the 5th District seat.

Sims, 67, of south suburban Posen, said 28 years on the Cook County Board will be enough. She is serving her seventh consecutive term since 1994.

“I did a lot of firsts,” Sims told me.

She was the first Black woman to represent the district, which covers parts of Roseland, Pullman and Morgan Park in Chicago and suburban Blue Island, Chicago Heights, Dolton, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Riverdale, Robbins and South Holland.

Sims thinks her successor should be a Black woman and serve full time to earn the county commissioner’s $85,000 annual salary.

“I think the person should not be holding another office the same time they’re holding this office,” Sims said. “I think it should be a person who is committed to this district because even though it’s a part-time job it’s a full-time commitment.”

Alsberry, who turns 66 Saturday, was elected to his third term as Hazel Crest mayor in April. He earned $37,097 for serving as mayor in 2018, according to a Better Government Association database of public salaries.

He told me if he’s elected to the county board, he doesn’t know if he would continue as mayor. Alsberry said he thinks

Sims could have done more to help constituents affected by the pandemic since March 2020.

“Some of the county was involved, but not all the county was involved,” Alsberry said. “African Americans were getting the virus. There was no help out here at all, and that worried me.”

Some of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates among Cook County suburbs are in 5th District communities.

“There’s a portion of the people that are afraid to get the shot because they are afraid of needles,” Sims said. “I think there’s a group of people out there afraid, but I think it’s also the history of vaccinations with the African American community.”

A lingering mistrust of vaccines can be traced to the infamous U.S. study of syphilis that left Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama to suffer from the disease, NPR reported.

In addition to Sims and President Toni Preckwinkle, 6th District Commissioner Donna Miller of Lynwood is a Black woman among the county board’s 17 commissioners.

“There are more men on that board than women,” Sims said. “If there isn’t a Black woman on that board we’re going to miss a lot. We bring a unique conversation to the table.”

The best person for the office should win the election, regardless of race or gender, Alsberry said.

“I’ve always dealt with strong Black women,” he said. “So I appreciate what she’s saying. I think the most important thing is, it’s about who is the best person. Color doesn’t make a difference sometimes. One of our Supreme Court justices is Black, but he’s very conservative.”

Alsberry’s wife, Diane, died of cancer in August 2019. They ran a physical therapy business together, he said. Alsberry grew up in Altgeld Gardens and served nearly a decade in the U.S. Air Force, he said. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health administration and a master’s degree in public administration from Governors State University in University Park, he said.

Since becoming mayor, Alsberry has been president of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and co-chair of the Southland Development Authority. He is active with the Southland Regional Mayoral Black Caucus, the African American Mayors Association, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and others.

Alsberry said he has gained different perspectives by associating with other mayors.

“We’re not all that different. Some may have more resources than others,” he said. “With mayors, it’s not Democrat or Republican. We don’t have time for that. It’s about getting the job done. So when we have conversations it’s always about, what did you do in your town, how did you make that happen?”

Alsberry’s picks for administrators have been a mixed bag. Hazel Crest’s outstanding police chief, Mitchell Davis, this year became the first person of color to be president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

On the other hand, Irma Holloway, the town’s former economic development director, is serving time in federal prison for fraud.

When Alsberry first became mayor, he booted village manager Marlo Kemp, who was under contract. Hazel Crest taxpayers footed a $300,000 bill to settle the dispute in 2016.

Carolyn Carter, Hazel Crest’s director of community and business relations, also is paid by Alsberry’s campaign fund, state records showed.

“I really don’t see it as a conflict,” Alsberry said.

He said Carter does her campaign related work when she’s not working for the village.

“She’s the only person me and Diane both knew that I really trust,” Alsberry said.

Sims said she owed a lot to the late Cook County Board President John H. Stroger and his approach to governing. She said when she was first elected in the 1990s, the late Robbins Mayor Irene Brodie told Sims she didn’t want her to be commissioner. Sims said she asked what she could do to change her mind.

“She said, I need a clinic in Robbins,” Sims said. “I said OK. I went to John Stroger. I’m from the John Stroger philosophy that we’re here to help those communities that need it the most. I told Stroger, we need a clinic, and we got a clinic, and her and I became very, very good friends after that.”

Voters will decide the 5th District seat in November 2022, but the June 28 Democratic primary should settle the contest for the most part. The primary is later than usual because of Census delays related to the pandemic.

The Cook County Board recently approved district maps for the next decade. The 5th District loses parts of Chicago’s 9th and 34th wards and gains parts of Oak Forest, Park Forest and South Holland, Alsberry said.

“I know most of these communities very well,” Alsberry said. “I understand that whole dynamic. I came home from the military and set myself in the Southland. I think I’m uniquely positioned to do an outstanding job.”

Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.

tslowik@tribpub.com